What’s next after monkeypox?
In a short period between 2000–2004, US Fish and Wildlife Service reported that more than 1 trillion animals were imported into the United States. Only 900 million fish, 26 million amphibians, 9 million reptiles, 2 million birds, and 200 000 mammals, including exotic animals, insects, and snakes, arrived in the US in five years.
In 2006, Paris Hilton was under attack; the pet originated from tropical rainforests and is closely related to raccoons that bit her. Kinkajou Baby Luv was deemed healthy, and Paris Hilton received a tetanus shot. However, after some media attention, the exotic pet trade came under severe scrutiny. Imported exotic animals could pose a risk to humans.
In 2022, the risk is still hugely underestimated.
Monkeypox
In 2003 an outbreak of human monkeypox first occurred in the United States. Seventy-two people got sick: rash, fever, chills, headache, sweats, and cough were the symptoms. Patients affected by monkeypox in the US had a very unusual rash on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, a typical presentation of orthopoxviral infection. However, the first human infection with the monkeypox virus was detected in 1970 in the rainforest of Africa.
